Jim opened this edition of Crosstalk with word regarding the following news items:

--Today is the March for Life in Washington, D.C. Much of the media is calling it only a march, leaving out the reference to life.--A federal appeals court panel ruled today that President Obama violated the constitution in making recess appointments last year.

Ben Barrack is an investigative radio host and blogger who broadcasts in Central Texas. He is the author of the book, “Unsung Davids: Ten Men Who Battled Goliath without Glory”.

Last September 11th in Benghazi, our consulate came under attack by a fundamentalist Islamic assault. According to Ben, not only was security denied, it was withdrawn. In the wake of it all, Christopher Stevens, who for some reason went to the compound days before, ended up dying along with IT Manager Sean Smith and two former Navy Seals. Jim noted that in subsequent days the line that we kept hearing from Susan Rice was that this was spontaneous activity due to an anti-Muslim You Tube video.

This portion of the program looks at why this happened, especially in light of a recent Senate Foreign Relations hearing that featured questions for Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. Jim played audio highlighting the fact that some of the toughest questioning came from Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.

Other news stories Jim presented included:

--U.S. military orders soldiers to remove a cross and a steeple from on top of a chapel and to board-up cross shaped windows at a remote American forward operating base in Afghanistan.--A retired military chaplain is concerned about a new Marine training course that incorporates Buddhist teachings.--President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Defense, Chuck Hegel, sits on the board of a fund that has the main financial backer of a group that’s urging the U.S. to join the U.N.’s international criminal court.--Senator John Kerry said that if he’s confirmed as the next Secretary of State he would support making the U.S. a party to a United Nations convention that’s been repeatedly used to advocate for abortion, oppose restrictions and support government funding across the world.--Al Qaida linked jihadist rebels are streaming into Syria via the Turkish border at the rate of thousands per month.--A New Mexico teenager accused of killing his parents and three other siblings was involved in violent video games prior to the shootings.--President Obama delivers a supportive video address to approximately 3,000 gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals at an LGBT equality national conference.